greg775

I'd give us a C- right now. We have an improved bullpen on paper, and allegedly improved defense in outfield, and more team speed. However, our lineup is not strong and we need another stud starter. The key is to spend some of this money and fill some needs without giving up any more talent. Free agency anyone????

Bear with me and read this. I think I've usurped some good exerpts from papers on the trade. Please read and comment on the writers' comments or my comments which follow. Phil Rodgers, Trib: "With Lee gone, Williams' next move should be to sign Konerko to a contract extension. He and Mark Buehrle are the leaders of this team." -- Agreed. We must keep these two. Ken Williams in article in Trib: Aaron Rowand may move to left field with Podsednik in center and Jermaine Dye in right. "It's one of the better defensive outfields that we've had in a long, long time," Williams said. --Nice to know we've got a great defensive outfield now. I can't complain about good defense in the outfield. That is a plus. Ken Williams in Trib: The Sox expect to have a bullpen hierarchy of Shingo Takatsu as his closer with Dustin Hermanson and Damso Marte as his prime setup men, and Cliff Politte and Vizcaino for the sixth and seventh innings. "I can't tell you how thrilled I am," Williams said. "It will prove to be one of the better bullpens in the game." --It will be nice if we indeed have one of the better bullpens in the game. Milwaukee Sentinel columnist: "Though broken-heart carpools will form for the short trip down I-94, Podsednik was expendable." --Good to know he was a fan favorite. We could use a hustler, fan favorite guy. Mariotti: "When Juan Uribe is a team's third-best hitter, you again start hoping that Reinsdorf sells the franchise while wondering if the general manager has lost his lid." --Yikes, his column was mighty scary as a whole, this line scaring me the most. I was pretty optimistic, til I read Jay's take. Yikes! Mariotti II: "Who would have thought a team in Milwaukee would act like big spenders and make a Chicago team look so small-townish?" --Yikes! This column sheds a lousy light on our trade with the Suds. DeLuca, Sun Times: ''I told [brewers GM] Doug Melvin he is going to get an All-Star,'' Williams said of Lee. Too bad Melvin couldn't return the favor." --Another guy says we got fleeced. Yuk. Sun Times story on the trade: Now that Clement remains unsigned, Williams might make another push to obtain the right-hander. "We've heard of him,'' Williams joked. "We've seen him a little bit. I can't deny that I've talked to Matt's agent.'' --Let's hope so. We need Clement. Phil Arvia, from my beloved Southtown: "What have we got? A batting order something like Podsednik, Juan Uribe, Aaron Rowand, Dye, Paul Konerko, Carl Everett, Joe Crede, Willie Harris and Jamie Burke or Ben Davis. Or, if you're scoring at home: A leadoff hitter with a .313 on base percentage, a guy who fell off the map after starting hot last season, a one-season wonder, a No. 5 hitter batting fourth, our Paulie, a has-been, a never-was, another guy getting another last chance, and one of two interchangeably forgettable backstops. It's tough to see how this one makes the Sox better. And it will be tougher to see Lee becoming an All-Star for the Brewers." --Ouch. Phil is a damn good columnist and he hates the deal. After reading the experts, I'd have to say our bullpen looks pretty darn good, our starting pitching is above average now and could get better, but our lineup looks pretty damn anemic, especially for The Cell.

There are great great baseball people on here. Is anybody excited about this?: Everett Uribe Crede Davis Willie Seriously that could be one of the worst hitting five somes on paper I've ever heard of. I realize our lineup could change some more, but yikes!

I hope so. It's amazing how quickly a team can change. We now have an of of Dye in rf, Pod in center and what, Rowand in left, instead of Maggs, Rowand and Lee.

I maintain our trades SUCK. Carlos Lee is a name player, a stud and we get Pod and the reliever. This trade excites anybody??? Tell me why. With Frank out, Maggs gone and Hurt possibly out til May we could be looking at a lotta 7-0 losses.

I don't think players like Carlos are a dime a dozen like a couple people indicated on here. I happen to think the guy was a big time producer. I agree with this post: YOU DON'T TRADE A 26-YEAR OLD RUN PRODUCER WHO CONTINUES TO IMPROVE FOR A 28-YEAR-OLD JOURNEYMAN WHO HAS HAD ONE DECENT YEAR IN HIS CAREER. KENNY WILLIAMS IS THE VILLAGE IDIOT AND EVERYBODY IN BASEBALL KNOWS IT

Great post, el rockin. I thought the same thing. I wish we'd get a new GM. Say what you want about Kenny, he's no Ron Schuler. Wright is another of those baseball players who at one point probably thought he'd be a zillionaire but it didn't work out. I feel sorry for him. Sounds like he's done.

We don't want him. Rock Raines is better.

There are two sides to every story. I tend to side with Maggs more than our organization which has angered a ton of players, including the stud of all studs, Fisk. Like Maggs said in the other story, he wanted the sox to pay him not the deferred crap. The Sox wouldn't. I woulda loved to see how the Maggs story would have played out if Maggs had stayed healthy. We still wouldn't have signed him. Let's just hope Dye has a career year. It's possible.

I love Maggs and hope he signs with the Cubs and dominates. Granted he's a bit greedy and I contend we shouldn't retire his jersey, but Maggs is great and I hope the Cubs get him to stick it to Reinsdork.

Is Dye our guy to lead us to greatness or will he be ham and cheese without the Rye? Can he stay healthy? Is he a poor man's Maggs or better? Is there any way he can last the whole season? Can he run any faster than Paulie and Crede? He used to be fast; is he now a sloth? Please answer all questions. and finally should we be excited about this signing or not? I'd have put this in the long threat but it got sidetracked about avatars or something. Merry Christmas! Jerry is no Scrooge.

Good lucky Sandy. Love the guy but I just knew for sure that homer he hit on opening day would be his last of the season. I think it was probably because he got hurt, but poor Sandy has no pop left in his bat.

I just hope on paper we have a better team next year than this past year. I have my concerns. Big Frank according to the papers won't be ready for the get-go. That's not good. We all saw what we were like w/out Maggs and Frank.

It's not that simple and it is not "clear"....... but we have been through all of this before. --Great post Rexie. We have been through this oh so many times. I do hate 'Dork though even though I believe the stuff Steff has said about him not being the only owner, etc.

I love Maggs but I wouldn't retire his jersey if he leaves us. Modern baseball means players and agents screw fans and teams. So screw them back. Don't retire his uni. And I do love Maggs.

I'd rather bring Rock Raines out of retirement and play than have Lofton. I think he sucked as a Sock.

I don't know why so many are excited about getting rid of Lee and Anderson for the names mentioned? Can somebody explain what is so attractive about giving up those 2 studs?

Good post Jim. We need to enliven this offseason with posts like this. I would agree with your basic premise that this could happen. I could see the Sox sticking with what they have, however. I'm sure KW is hoping Ben can turn his career around at the plate since he acquired him. I am not so sure. Ben is pretty anemic.

Thanks. I knew you'd all come through with the info.

I've heard a lot about TV and don't really understand it regarding the Sox. Does anybody know my options for getting the Sox on TV in Kansas City area this season? a.) Will the Sox still be on WGN? b.) What is Comcast? c.) How is the Sox TV situation changing in 50 words or less. What channels were they on before and what will they be on now? Thank you very much. Signed, Bill Nahorodny.

Good post. Well, I hope if he becomes a Twin we're smart enough to throw him the curve cause he could cause us a lot of harm the hot streaks he can get on. Two Jose dingers a game in the humptydome could kill us on a nightly basis.

You are right that we need good players. I'm worried that with the loss of Maggs and Hurt's coming down with injuries and fact we currently are looking at Harris and Uribe at second and short we could be close to becoming the Orioles for years to come. A team with no chance. Are we running out of good players?

At this risk of making a stupid post, does anybody think Jose's low average this year was cause we were out of the race the whole second half because of the injuries and he was going for only home runs? The guy did whack a lot of homers. His defense wasn't totally horrific. All he did was not hit for average. I'm just saying the guy was not totally unproductive as a Sox. The guy whacked 30 home runs. He is no Royce Clayton who single handedly ruined that one season.

I think his negative stance toward the Sox is justified. I love the Sox but his column mentions our small market mentality. How can anybody deny that's a good thing to criticize. High market prices for tickets; low market mentality. And he wants Dork to sell the team. That's a good thing. This owner sucks.

I disagree that character doesn't matter. We're never going to get back to the playoffs until we get Fisk-type players again.